Giveaway closed! And the winner is...

...Poppy! Please email me (lotuspalace@gmail.com) to claim your Sigma brush set!

Thanks to everyone for participating!

Sigma Beauty Travel Brush Kit Naughty in Black & Duo Fibre Brush F50 and Giveaway!

If you see this post on another site than lotuspalace.blogspot.com it has been stolen and used without my permission. I only allow reposts with proper credits for my work (please contact me first!)

Recently Sigma Beauty provided me with their Travel Brush Kit Black and their Duo Fibre Brush F50 to test and review. You can also win the Travel Brush Kit Black (info below!)
I want to mention first that I am really impressed with the friendly customer service, shipping speed and beautiful packaging. They actually told me I am getting the brush set but they also included the Duo Fibre Brush which was an awsome thing to do in my opinion!

I tried and used quite a variety of different brushes by various brands and found quite a lot of duds but also some nice ones among them. Now flame me but in general I am not impressed with the brushes from MAC but used to use them regularly.

I got the Travel Brush Kit Black a few days before heading to Hong Kong so I thought it´s the perfect occasion to give the brushes a good test.

The brushes come housed in a very sturdy black pouch with a slot for each brush and a zippered compartment to put Q-tips or other small items. The pouches closes shut with an insewn magnet.

The brushes are not that small despite being travel brushes, actually they are close to regularly sized brushes in my opinion.

The brushes included are (read more about them here!):

For the face:
-Foundation F60
-Large Powder Brush F30
-Angled Contour Brush F40
-Concealer F70






For the eyes:
-Eye Shading E55
-Tapered Blending E40
-Pencil E30


For me the set is pretty complete, all I had to add for my HK trip was the Duo Fibre Brush, spiral brow brush, lash comb and a small rounded eyeliner brush.

I was really surprised by the quality of the brushes. They are simply amazing. The eyeshadow brushes include the Eye Shading brush which is a nice wide dense lay-down brush applying lid color intensely and evenly without causing a lot of fall-out, the Pencil brush is great for adding definition to my crease-area and outer corners of my eyes and the Tapered Blending is a nice fluffy brush to apply and blend in highlighter or other lighter colors.
I did all my recent eye makeup looks with just these brushes and just love how easy the brushes are to use.

The face brushes include the flat Foundation brush which I prefer to use for cream blushes, the Large Powder Brush which is soft and distributes powder evenly, the Concealer brush which is also a great cream eyeshadow brush and the Angled Contour Brush which I love to use for applying powder blushes.

The Duo Fibre Brush is perfect for applying liquid and cream foundation if you use the stippling technique. This is also the only brush btw that shedded a little at first but after a few washes the shedding stopped nearly completely.

All in all I am really impressed with the brushes and have not used my other brushes since receiving the kit. I can really recommend getting Sigma Beauty brushes with all my heart.

Rating 5/5

Giveaway!!
Sigma Beauty is generously giving away a Travel Brush Kit Black to one of my readers and will ship directly to her! The winner just has to email me and I will forward the address to Sigma Beauty.

To enter please do the following:
-Only open to followers (so please make sure you follow me on blogger, not only via RSS)! Make sure that by your nickname or name I can clearly identify you!
-Open worldwide!
-Please leave a comment to this post (telling me about your favorite brushes or which ones you think you need to buy or anything like that).
Only 1 comment per person can be accepted.
-Giveaway open until Sunday, June 12th 2011, 8 PM (my time, GMT +1)
-Winner will be randomly chosen and announced here by Monday, 13th of June 2011. Please make sure to email me to claim your prize within 3 days after winner is announced or new winner will be drawn. Or leave your email address in your comment entry so I can contact you!

Giveaway closed! And the winner is...

If you see this post on another site than lotuspalace.blogspot.com it has been stolen and used without my permission. I only allow reposts with proper credits for my work (please contact me first!)!

..... Jasuuu

Congratulations!
Please email me your address to lotuspalace@gmail.com

Thanks to everyone for participating!

Back from Hong Kong and Giveaway!

If you see this post on another site than lotuspalace.blogspot.com it has been stolen and used without my permission. I only allow reposts with proper credits for my work (please contact me first!)!

I came back from Hong Kong a couple of days ago! It was a fantastic trip though quite exhausting and I walked around so much I need to use a Baby Foot Easy Pack again soon =)
I went with Qatar Airways via Doha (which is one of the worst airports I ever had to travel through!) and the service on board and in-flight entertainment was pretty good.

Definitely I hauled like a lunatic and the prices are really good there, the Japanese brands mostly are like 25-30% cheaper than in Japan however the variety of brands wasn´t as huge as I had expected or maybe I just didn´t find the right places to shop hehe =)
I also got quite a bunch of clothes, stationery and toys for my kids but didn´t take pics of these.

My husband and I went for quite a bit of sightseeing, too, of which the nicest was the giant Buddha and cable car drive to it. My favorite place was Mong Kok where I finally could get a bubble milk tea of which I had dreamt for quite a while hehe!

Here are the majority of beauty products I bought however I didn´t take haul pics of some body care stuff I purchased as I only took individual pics for later reviews.

Giveaway!

I actually had planned to post the giveaway from Hong Kong but didn´t take my laptop so here is the giveaway finally!
You will get all the things pictured below and of course they are all unused and untested.

-1 Aizim Ms. Violet BB Cream
-1 Daiso Black Nose Mask Pack
-1 Kiss Me Moist Lip BB lip balm (really nice beige lip balm!)
-1 Dobest Japan eyeshadow quad
-1 cute pocket mirror

To enter please do the following:

-Be a follower of my blog

-Please leave a comment to this post, no specific content required.

-Giveaway open to worldwide, shipping via economy airmail (2-3 weeks delivery time)!

-I will close the giveaway in 2 weeks from now, that´s May 28th at 3 PM (my time, Vienna-Zurich timezone). Winner will be chosen randomly after giveaway closes.

-Winner must email me (lotuspalace@gmail.com) within 48 hours after close of giveaway or other winner will be chosen.

Good luck and thanks for participating!!

Giveaway closed! And the winner of the Dariya Lip Treatment is....

..... XiaXia! Please email me your addy! (lotuspalace@gmail.com)

Thanks to everyone for participating!

Dariya Make-on Gel & Lip Treatment & Giveaway!

If you are checking Sasa or eBay frequently maybe you noticed those cute new mint/red products from Dariya? I certainly did and the uncommon color combo really looked oustanding in the sea of white and pink Japanese skincare so I picked up several products from this new line from Dariya.

I believe the line consists of 4 products so far, a mist, a makeup base gel, a lip balm and a hand & body emulsion. At least that´s the bunch I have seen so far.
As I mentioned above I really love the unusual combination of red and mint used for the packaging and the overall design is cute with a lace motif etc.

The Make-On Gel is a makeup base and for touching up makeup when it starts to look blotchy or uneven.

I only use it as a makeup base though and I really like it. It´s a smooth gel which moisturized but also dries down quickly so you don´t have to wait for the base to settle. I am sure it contains dimethicone as it has a slippery feel to it but it neither gives me pimples nor does it make my foundation pill so overall I really like this as a base.

This is not colored but is scented with a weird floral scent. Thank God it´s only a faint scent or I would really dislike it!

The 30g jar retails for 840 Yen, I got mine from Sasa for a bit below that.

The Lip Treatment contains Hyaluronic Acid, Collagen and and Vitamin E and is supposed to give your lips a more voluminous and glossy look, act as a treatment and as a lipstick base.

This is a slick clear product giving a glossy finish and making my lips soft instantly. It wears off rather quickly though so has to be reapplied frequently but still my lips stay soft even after the Lip Treatment is gone.

The drawback for me is the floral scent which really is yucky. It´s not so strong to make it unbearable but strong enough to irritate me.
Overall a good product and with good effect on my lips but not my favorite lip balm.

Available on Sasa for around US$6, I got 1 tube from Alphabeautyuk though.

Rating for the gel: 4/5

Lip Treatment: 3.5/5

Giveaway: 
Since Valentine´s day is approaching (well, the giveaway is too late for it haha) I am giving away one brand new and boxed tube of the Lip Treatment which I ordered on Sasa to one of my readers commenting on this review. There is also a small memo pad from San-X´s cute new character Sentimental Circus and a pack of stickers included =) 

I would like to read the winner´s feedback on this item either by email, comment on this post or on her blog if she has one after trying this product out =) 

Da rulez (trying to be cool yay) 
-Only open to followers (so please make sure you follow me on blogger, not only via RSS)! Make sure that by your nickname or name I can clearly identify you! 
-Open worldwide!
-Please leave a comment to this post (telling me anything you like). Only 1 comment per person can be accepted.
-Giveaway open until Monday, 14th February 2011, 8 PM (my time, GMT +1)
-Winner will be randomly chosen by random.org and announced here by Tuesday, 15th of February 2011. So you only have 4 days to enter! 
Please make sure to email me to claim your prize within 3 days after winner is announced or new winner will be drawn. Or leave your email address in your comment entry so I can contact you!
-I will ship via airmail

Giveaway closed..

...and the winner of the Maybelline Angelfit Brighten Up Blush is 

Elisa ♥

Please email me (lotuspalace@gmail.com)

Congrats and thanks to everyone for participating!

Inexpensive Beauty Find: Maybelline Angelfit Brighten Up Blush in Wooden Rose & Giveaway

I am not usually interested in Maybelline at all but their Asia-exclusive line Angelfit somehow attracts me and the Brighten Up Blush was really cheap on Sasa so I got the one in Wooden Rose anyway. 

The blush comes in a clear and pink plastic case with a tiny cheek brush enclosed. The brush isn´t the best but neither the worst I ever saw in a blush compact (that award goes to Covergirl!!). 
The case looks a bit flimsy but is actually a bit bulky and relatively sturdy in my opinion. 

The texture is actually excellent. It´s a finely milled silky but not overly soft powder with very fine shimmer giving a glowy and healthy finish. 
This blush is sheerly pigmented but it shows up with just a few layers when using my MAC blush brush. 

Wooden Rose is a very natural pink-beige shade which can be combined with about 90% of my lipsticks and lipgloss stash. It´s such a wonderfully versatile shade I like to wear it a lot these days.

I got this from Sasa for around US$6, the blush is made in China.

Rating 5/5

Giveaway:
I am giving away a brand new Angelfit Brighten Up Blush in Wooden Rose to one of my readers. Also included are some stickers, sticky memos and a pencil =) Good Luck!

How to enter:
-Only open to followers (so please make sure you follow me on blogger, not only via RSS)! Make sure that by your nickname or name I can clearly identify you! 
-Open worldwide!
-Please leave a comment to this post (telling me anything you like). Only 1 comment per person can be accepted.
-Giveaway open until Monday, January 31st 2011, 8 PM (my time, GMT +1)
-Winner will be randomly chosen by random.org and announced here by Tuesday, 1st of February 2011. Please make sure to email me to claim your prize within 3 days after winner is announced or new winner will be drawn. Or leave your email address in your comment entry so I can contact you!
-I will ship via airmail

Xmas/Birthday GIVEAWAY =D

Now is December which means Xmas (and my 30th B-day on 23rd) are approaching!

To celebrate these events I am giving away the following products to 1 lucky reader! I know it would be nicer to split the giveaway but since shipping is really outrageous all will go to one person! Thanks for understanding =)

How to enter:
-Only open to followers via blogger (so please make sure you follow me on blogger, not only via RSS)! Make sure that by your nickname or name I can clearly identify you!  And yes, I upon picking the winner I do check if the person is following me, otherwise another winner will be selected (happened a few times in the previous giveaways!)
-Open worldwide!
-Please leave a comment to this post. Only 1 comment per person can be accepted, sorry!
-Giveaway open until Sunday, December 19th 2010, 8 PM (my time, GMT +1)
-Winner will be randomly chosen by random.org and announced here by Monday, 20th of December 2010. Please make sure to email me to claim your prize within 3 days after winner is announced or new winner will be drawn. Or leave your email address in your comment entry so I can contact you!
-I will ship via economy airmail, which takes between 1-4 weeks, depending on the destination. 

And this is the prize:

Some cute Japanese stationery first:

-San-X Rabby´s Happy Diary memo pad, contains 154 sheets in 7 super cute designs. The first 10 pages are a colorful kind of semi-transparent tracing paper. This is a regular-sized memo pad, none of those tiny minis and is of course unused. I have the same one and really love it!

-A sticker sheet from Qlia, very girly stuff =)

-Iwako eraser in a strawberry cream cake shape

-Alice in Wonderland pencil (B) with some cute charms dangling from the top

And sure more Japanese (and 1 Korean) beauty products. Everything is brand new, unused and unopened!

-Esprique Precious Heart Graphical Mascara in black...love this mascara and you can win my back-up! =D

-Esprique Precious Toning Lotion (Mist Type), 60ml

-Innisfree Apple Juice Cleansing Oil, 150ml

-PDC Famy Hand Cream W, 50g

-Kiss Me Moist Lip HA&Collagen in Sakura Pink, 4.5g

-Tsubaki Head Spa Extra Cleansing with Tsubaki Oil Ex Shampoo, 100ml

-Kosé Salon Style Nano Charge Conditioner, 60ml 

-Kosé Cosmeport Quick Oil Off Sheet, 150 pieces

-Bison Funwarich Bath Powder in Vanilla, 30g (for 1 bath)

Hope you like the prizes and Good Luck! =)